1. Copyright Notice
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The following notice applies to the software and data as described below and in the drawings that form a part of this document: Copyright 2007-2009 eBay Inc., All Rights Reserved.
2. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to methods and systems supporting computing and data processing systems. More particularly, a system and method supporting microfinance funds aggregation for a retail investor are described.
3. Related Art
Conventional network-based marketplaces (e.g. consumer websites) provide users with functionality to browse a collection of goods or services at a website and make purchases using a variety of means. For example, conventional credit cards can be used for an online purchase. In this case, the user enters the credit card number into a data field on a web form provided by a merchant or third party website. Conventional debit cards can be similarly used. Using these conventional financial systems and processes on the Web, users can shop and make purchases of goods or services over the Internet. However, in some cases, securities cannot be purchased with credit/debit cards.
The PayPal system is also a popular example of a conventional financial system and process to facilitate online consumer transactions. The PayPal system provides a user account created for each user wherein a user associates his/her credit card, debit card, or bank account with the PayPal account. Subsequently, the user can make secure purchases using the PayPal account without revealing his/her credit card number or financial information. When a user makes a purchase at a merchant site, the user can log in to the PayPal site to gain access to their PayPal account in order to complete the consumer transaction at the merchant site.
Conventional methods and systems can also enable consumers to purchase from a set of securities or investments currently available on the Web. The website, ETRADE.COM is an example of a site that provides security trading services on the web. The issuance of securities is highly regulated by several government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). SEC regulations have been applied to the availability of securities on the Web. One problem is that many current systems and processes for facilitating the exchange of securities are only cost-effective if large value or large volume securities are traded in a given transaction. In other words, conventional systems and processes for facilitating the exchange of securities are set up for sophisticated professionals who deal in large value/volume transactions. As such, current online systems do not efficiently support microfinance investments by small retail investors. A wide variety of securities can be purchased by retail investors through web interfaces through established brokerage houses. However, microfinance as an asset class is still emerging and is therefore not a class of securities available through mainstream brokerages. Because microfinance is emerging, it is targeting institutional and accredited investors and not retail investors. As such, mainstream brokerages do not provide a platform that facilitates retail investment in microfinance. Any security is issued by an issuer. Most organizations raising capital from commercial markets have to issue securities. These organizations tend to focus on large investors because it is more cost effective for them.
Thus, a system and method supporting microfinance funds aggregation for a retail investor are needed.